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Lee's Summit, MO Sixth Grader Receives First Place Gee Whiz Kids™ Award
Washington, DC - Alexander Wood from Lee's Summit, MO was awarded First Place for the 2010 Gee Whiz Kids™ Award given by the Heart of America Foundation®.

When Alexander was four years old, he learned about a program in Haiti that serves nutritious meals in schools to ensure that children receive at least one healthy meal a day. When he learned that not all children could afford to attend school, he told his mom that he wanted to raise money for the program by selling lemonade. His family pulled together, helped him set up a lemonade stand, and held a garage sale.  By the end of the day, the family had raised $200 for Haitian relief. 

After that success, Alexander began to hold lemonade stands at every neighborhood function. He gradually branched out into other forms of service, from collecting food and saving his allowance to donate to a local food pantry, to fundraising over $300 to purchase clothing, personal items and medicine for the City Union Mission, a local shelter.  

In 2009, Alexander decided to open Clean Hands Bakery. After researching different non-profits, he decided that all proceeds from bake goods sales would support Heifer International, an organization that strives to end world hunger and poverty through providing a sustainable source of food and income. He registered Clean Hands Bakery with the state of Missouri, started a blog and website for people who wanted to order items online, and created a Heifer Team to promote sales.  So far, through the sale of loaves and cookies, he has raised over $3,500.

Columbia, SC 12 year-old wins Second Place Gee Whiz Kids™ Award
Washington, DC - Anthony Frederick from Columbia, SC was awarded Second Place for the 2010 Gee Whiz Kids™ Award given by the Heart of America Foundation®.

In 2007, Anthony’s mother, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005, attended a breast cancer luncheon. At the luncheon she purchased a pink bracelet with the words “Find the Cure”, and gave it to Anthony. Inspired, Anthony told her that he wanted to raise money to help stop breast cancer. 

By selling his school pictures to family and friends, passing out a personal letter asking for assistance in “Finding-A-Cure”, and selling family toys and lemonade in his front yard, Anthony raised $3,124 for the Palmetto Health Foundation for the First Lady’s Walk for Life. When asked why it was important to him to raise money, he said, “I wanted to raise money for breast cancer awareness so no one else, including my baby sister, will get sick from this disease.”

Over the past four years Anthony has donated over $12,000 to the Palmetto Health Foundation for the First Lady’s Walk for Life.  He continues to sell lemonade and toys, and has started his own organization: Kids Inspired by Cancer Kampaign (KICK). KICK strives to raise awareness of the disease and is now the sponsor of Anthony’s Lemonade Stand and Dodgeball Tournament. 

In addition to his recognition with the Gee Whiz Kids Award, Anthony’s service has been recognized by Congressman Jim Clyburn and the Governor of South Carolina. He was also awarded the Humanitarian Award by the Mayor of Columbia, SC, and spoke on August 7, 2010 about KICK at the National Health Awards Banquet in Atlanta, GA.

The Gee Whiz Kids™ Award is given to children age 12 and under
who exemplify the value of service in America.

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Saginaw, MI 12-year-old Wins Third Place Gee Whiz Kids™ Award
Washington, DC - Marlee Curnutt from Saginaw, MI was awarded Third Place for the 2010 Gee Whiz Kids™ Award given by the Heart of America Foundation®.

Marlee began raising money for St. Jude’s Hospital in 2008, after seeing a video of children and families at St. Jude’s.  She held a carnival and invited business and community members to participate. By the end of the day she had raised over $1,200. In 2009 she held an 80’s roller skating event that collected over $600, and this past year she hosted a bowling fundraiser that netted nearly $1,000.  In all, she has fundraised over $2,800 for St. Jude’s Hospital. 

In addition to raising money for St. Jude’s, Marlee actively volunteers at her school and supports local MS walk events. She excels in Karate, runs cross-country with her middle school, and aspires to be a pediatrician. In addition to her recognition with the Gee Whiz Kids Award, Marlee was awarded the 2008-2009 Nicholas Green Award for Michigan.

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More information about the Gee Whiz Kids™ Award or the Heart of America Foundation® can be found on the Foundation’s website at www.heartofamerica.org or by contacting Colleen Noland at colleen@heartofamerica.org.

Founded in 1997, the Heart of America’s focus is to provide children in need everywhere with the tools to read, succeed and make a difference. A national nonprofit headquartered in Washington, DC, its programs uniquely combine volunteerism and literacy. Since 1997, it has provided children living in poverty with over 1.8 million books and has helped volunteers serve more than 1,020,000 hours giving back to the community.

CONGRATULATIONS! 2010 Gee Whiz Kids™ Award

Heroes of the Heart™ Gee Whiz Kids™ Award [download application]

AWARD WINNERS:    2016  • 2015  •  2014  •  2013  •  2012  •  2011  •  2010  •  2009

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